For a real outdoor Alaska experience, the cabins at Renfro’s Lakeside Retreat provide the kind of scenery and isolation that will be a highlight of your trip. Five of these modern and spacious cabins sit about 10 feet from the waters of Kenai Lake. A family of five or six will be comfortable on the queen bed, twin bed, full futon and available crib or rollaway. There’s a full kitchen, which you’ll need since the nearest restaurants are 20 miles back in Seward. Be sure to load up on groceries before you arrive. You’ll love the quiet, whether from the front deck of your cabin or sitting around your private fire pit by the water’s edge.

Renfro’s cabins are in an isolated area 20 miles north of downtown Seward on the highway to Anchorage. With the lake in front of you and the thick forest behind, it will feel like the true Alaskan outback. There are hiking trails around the lake, or you can get on the water with kayak rentals. Kids might want to go into town to visit the Alaska Sealife Center, the state’s biggest and best aquarium. Seward is a starting point for day trips to Kenai Fjords National Park and Holgate Glacier, and there are any number of guided tour operators available for hire in town. However, once you settle into your cabin at Renfro’s Lakeside Retreat, your Alaskan family vacation will feel complete.